Drafting is generally a good thing, provided the person you’re drafting off is someone you think will benefit you by doing so. But drafting at the back of the pack in a prestigious international indoor track event can be risky. This was certainly the case in a qualifying heat of the European 3,000m indoor championship held recently.

However, if you’re shadowing the recent 1,500m Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, it’s a good bet that you won’t be at the back of the pack at the end of the race. That’s precisely what Newark native and German champion CRR Sam Parsons did, having run on Ingebrigtsen’s heels at the very back for about 80% of the race. Ingebrigtsen ended up winning the 3,000m heat, but following his lead was enough for Parsons to finish third in the race, easily making it into one of the top six qualifying spots for the European final.

> See the heat 1 video